


Seeds of the Red Lotus

by AvatarNia



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Assassins & Hitmen, F/F, F/M, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Major Original Character(s), Non-Graphic Violence, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Slow To Update, takes place during book 4
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24125521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarNia/pseuds/AvatarNia
Summary: “We’ll be okay. We always have been.”While the blossoms may be gone, the roots of the Lotus run all over the world. Planting seeds, paving the way for new flowers to bloom.All hope seems lost during the fight with the Earth Empire. When new faces willing to help come into the picture, Korra and her friends are quick to accept. But little do they know that their new allies harbour an awful secret, one that may put the whole mission in jeopardy.
Relationships: Ghazan/Ming-Hua (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato, P'li/Zaheer (Avatar), Pema/Tenzin (Avatar)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	1. New Allies

Korra threw her head back, groaning in exasperation. She’s been back in action for weeks and still didn’t have the slightest idea what to do with Kuvira. Gaoling and Zaofu were the only major states left outside the Earth Empire. Korra had to figure out what to do, and fast.

She felt powerless- completely useless. If Aang was in her place, he would be out there in the Earth Empire, playing peacemaker, and not cooped up on Air Temple island waiting for Kuvira’s next move. No wonder people say that the world doesn’t need the Avatar anymore.

“I understand that you’re frustrated, Korra, but you have to stay calm in order to come up with a good way to solve this. Maybe if you meditate more-” Her airbending teacher started from behind her.

“Tenzin, if you could stop with your meditation talk for two seconds-“ Korra interjected. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Sorry. That was out of line.”

“That’s quite alright.” Tenzin placed a hand on her shoulder. “This is a hard problem to solve.”

“And I think we just found a solution.” A paper was slammed onto the table in front of the Avatar. She looked up to meet Mako’s eyes, noticing Bolin standing behind him. Her eyes flickered to the paper for a moment, only catching the word assassin.

“What is this?”

“Mako and I went to talk to the triads today,” Bolin spoke up. “We asked around to see if they knew anyone who could help. Two-toed Ping gave us that.”

The firebender sat down. “Her name is Suiren and she’s a pretty well-known assassin in the crime world. She’s a waterbender and lives in Gaoling. Ping told us that she always had a problem with the government, so I’m sure she’ll be willing to help with Kuvira.”

“What’s this about Kuvira?” Asami asked, walking into the room.

“Mako wants to hire an assassin to deal with her,” Korra grumbled.

“An assassin? Mako, are you insane?” 

“Not to kill her!” Mako protested. “Just to help take her down.”

“It’s only a matter of time until Kuvira invades Gaoling,” Tenzin added. “It might be wise to hire her before she is forced to pledge loyalty to the Great Uniter.”

“I can’t believe this! Tenzin, you’re against violence, why are you going along with it?” Korra sounded outraged.

“Korra, they’ve got a point,” Asami said gently. “This might be our only way to take her down.”

“How about this, Korra. We can go to Gaoling and talk to her, and then you can decide.” Bolin offered. 

“Fine, we’ll take the airship.” Korra crossed her arms. “But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna be happy about it.”

After an overnight trip, the airship landed in Gaoling. Korra barely slept all night. She couldn’t believe they came all the way out here to hire an assassin. Something was telling her that what they came here to do is wrong.

“We’re going out to try and find her.” Make threw over his shoulder as he, Bolin, and Asami exited the airship. Korra remained in her seat, simply nodding. The quiet of the empty compartment consumed her, letting her sink into her thoughts.

Ever since her injury, she promised herself that she would be less brash. Less quick to resort to brute strength. Though she knew from experience that Kuvira doesn’t do peace talks. Maybe force is truly the only way to take her down.

_ No. That can’t be right. Fighting is never the answer. _

That’s what everyone always told her. All her teachers in the White Lotus, Tenzin, Katara. Even her own past lives, except for maybe Kyoshi. She overheard the whispers in the compound, even when they thought she was too focused on training to hear.

_ She’s strong. _

_ She lacks restraint. _

What were they doing? They were hiring an assassin. A killer. What is that but a direct act of aggression? Kuvira could easily use that against them. No matter which way she tried to word it, they were still paying a murderer to go after her.

‘ _ Of course _ ,’ The little voice inside her head spoke.  _ ‘Hire someone else to do your dirty work, why don’t you? You’re too scared to go after her on your own. What kind of Avatar are you? _ ’

She worked hard to push the thoughts out of her head. Mako was right, they weren’t going to kill her. They were just hiring someone to stop her from conquering the Earth Kingdom.

_ Yeah, hiring an assassin. _

A few endless hours later, Korra’s friends returned alone. The four sat on the ground outside the airship, Naga and Pabu rolling around in the grass a little ways off.

“Everyone I asked told me the same thing.” Mako leaned back nonchalantly. “They said that she’s a very private person and hates people dropping in unannounced.”

“Same here.” Bolin agreed. “But I also managed to worm out of a fish merchant that she lives all alone except for her little sister.”

Asami propped her chin up with her hand. “The most I got was a vague description. She has light brown skin and black hair.”

“Yeah, like that narrows it down.” Korra sighed. “Is that all you got?”

“People seemed to know that she would get angry if they gave away any of her information. They were afraid to even point us in the right direction.” Mako shrugged.

“Great, so we have no leads on how to find her, can we go home now?” Korra practically pleaded with her friends.

The conversation was interrupted by an insistent rapping on the side of the airship. The group looked over to see a girl, probably a year or two older than Korra, with brown skin and black hair tied into a loose low ponytail. 

She wore a blue sundress over a white undershirt with long sleeves. Her golden-brown eyes flared with a mix of anger and curiosity. She kept her back ram-rod straight, letting off an aura of intimidation. 

“Guess not,” Mako whispered to Korra.

“Who are you and why were you looking for me?” She demanded, her voice even and unwavering.

“Are you Suiren?” Korra asked, standing up. Instead of an answer, she received a curt nod. “My name is Korra, I’m the Avatar. These are my friends: Mako, Bolin, and Asami. We came here to hire you for your services.”

The girl’s posture turned defensive. “How did you find out about me?”

“The triads in Republic City told us,” Bolin answered. Korra could see that the boy was unnerved by the assassin.

“Ah, the triads told you.” Suiren huffed. “I did a good job of never trusting the triads. They will always stab you in the back. Always.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of experience,” Asami said with a nervous undertone.

A shrug. “Comes with my line of work.” 

Without letting an awkward silence form, the girl turned around and started the trek back to Gaoling, motioning for Korra and her friends to follow her.

“You two stay here, okay? We’ll be back soon.” Korra told Naga and Pabu, petting each animal on the head before joining the group,

Bolin jogged up to Suiren in a manner that could only mean he was about to bombard the girl with a slew of questions. Mako wanted to stop his brother but ultimately decided to let him work out his energy now rather than have him talk non-stop the entire rest of the day.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

”Depends. If it’s about my line of work, sure. If it’s about my life outside of work, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut.” Suiren looked at him weirdly, as if unused to people asking about her life. “There are only two things I’ll tell you about myself. Yes, I am single, and no, I’m not interested.”

“That’s not what I wanted to ask!” Bolin was quick to reject the idea. Even though Opal was keeping him at an icy distance he wasn’t about to go and flirt with another woman.

“Oh?” Suiren looked slightly surprised, though she did a good job at masking it. “That makes you the first, then. You can’t even imagine how many clients ask that. Can’t exactly tell them that guys are not my type if I want to keep my business rolling.”

Mako raised both eyebrows. “So you’re not straight. Aren’t you supposed to keep that private?”

“Eh, not really a secret. People just never bother to ask.”

“So, Suiren,” Bolin saw a chance to jump in. “You don’t really look like a…” 

“I’m an assassin, say it how it is. It’s not a bad word.” Suiren said bluntly. “And how are assassins supposed to look like? I’d be pretty suspicious if I walked around in all black with a hood on. That’s like asking a doctor why they don’t wear a surgical mask outside of the hospital.”

“Right, sorry. How long have you been an assassin?” The earthbender asked.

“A few years. Don’t ask for my kill count, I’m legally not allowed to tell you.”

“Speaking of,” Mako started. “Please tell me that what we’re about to do is legal.”

“Why? Are you a cop?” Suiren turned to face him.

“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m a detective in Republic City’s police department and personal bodyguard to Prince Wu of the Earth Kingdom. He is currently staying at Air Temple Island for his and our convenience.” Mako rattled off.

“Read as: he is very immature and irresponsible so that’s why we saddled Tenzin with making sure he stays out of trouble.” Asami translated with a laugh.

Suiren didn’t laugh. “And that’s the person you want to run the country once you defeat the Great Uniter?”

Korra scoffed. “You got a better idea?”

“You must have heard that I’m not big on governments.” She shrugged, not willing to elaborate.

The rest of the walk passed in silence. Korra churned the newfound information in her head. Suiren definitely preferred to live a private life. Bolin looked like he thought he got through to her, but the assassin obviously gave away carefully constructed answers. Something about her didn’t sit right with Korra, but she chalked it up to leftover prejudice.

“Welcome to my humble abode.” Suiren only spoke again once they have reached a small cottage on the outskirts of the town. The beige walls were beautifully accentuated by a green tiled roof and shutter. Bright flowers bloomed in front of the house and a vegetable garden was peeking out from the back.

“You do gardening?” Asami asked.

“Nope, never found the time. My sister does though.” The door of the house was unlocked, indicating that someone else was home. Suiren didn’t seem like the type to leave her door unlocked,

The inside of the house was oddly comforting. The dark brown wood was complemented by green and blue accents. The clatter piled up on shelves and in cupboards was charming in its own strange way.

“I’m home!” Suiren called out. The sound of footsteps immediately echoed through the house. Another girl, a few years younger than Suiren, stepped out into the living room. 

Her hair was shorter than Suiren’s, only reaching her shoulders. She wore a yellowish-green jumpsuit over a deep green vest. Her eyes were a stormy gray, contrasting with Suiren’s golden brown. 

“Hi, Suiren! You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone over, are they gonna stay for lunch?” The girl asked cheerfully.

Mako quickly interjected. “No, thank you. We really shouldn’t leave the airship alone for that long.”

“I’m pretty sure they think I’m gonna poison them.” Suiren chuckled. “Anyway, this is Avatar Korra and her friends, and this is my sister, Midori.”

“Nice to meet you!” Midori smiled.

Suiren’s face turned more serious. “Are you done with lunch?”

Midori looked confused. “Yeah, why?”

“I need the kitchen table for our meeting. We’re gonna need total peace and quiet. In other words-“ Even though Midori was only slightly shorter than her, Suiren still made a show of leaning down and nodding towards the staircase. “Scram.”

“Okay, okay, I’m going.” Midori rolled her eyes and ascended up the staircase. Suiren led Korra and her friends into the kitchen. The assassin sat at the head of the table, leaving the group to settle at the sides.

“So, what do you require my services for?”

Korra took it upon herself to speak. “We would like to hire you to take down the Great Uniter.”

“No. No way.” Suiren shook her head. “It’s too risky.”

“I thought you were a skilled assassin?” Mako raised an eyebrow.

“I am, but I also know when a job is impossible. There's no way I can get even remotely close to the Great Uniter.”

“But it’s for the good of the world!” Bolin argued.

Suiren stood up and leaned forward, bracing herself on her arms. “Everything I do is for the good of my sister and no one else. Midori only has two people left in the world: me and our aunt. And if anything happens to me there is no way I’m leaving my sister with that toad.”

“Suiren, listen to me, please.” Korra took a deep breath. “If- no, when- Kuvira conquers Gaoling, you’ll be forced to work for her. You’ll be thrown into even more dangerous situations than this. The Earth Kingdom is your home. Think about your sister. What is she going to do once this place becomes a military base and you’re off in some city threatening innocent civilians for the Earth Empire? If you accept the job, we’ll provide full accommodation at Air Temple Island and anything else you might need.”

“Fine…but only because I care about my sister.” Suiren’s eyes softened. She turned towards the kitchen entrance. “I know you’re listening outside the door, Midori, so why don’t you do me a favour and bring my price sheet over?”

A muffled gasp was heard from behind the door, followed by footsteps. The door opened and Midori guiltily shuffled through. She placed the paper on the table, sliding it over to Korra, who handed it to Asami.

Asami’s eyes widened, wordlessly passing the price sheet along the table. Once the sheet reached Mako, he practically threw it down in outrage.

“You want us to pay  _ how much _ ?”

“ _ You _ want me to travel to Kuvira’s army, sneak past multiple lines of defense, take her down, and get back out alive. I think my prices are reasonable.”

“Wait, you’re leaving again?” Midori interrupted. “You just got back!”

“Midori, you know I hate leaving you here, but it’s what I need to do if we want to keep this house.” Suiren placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Dad grew up here. We grew up here. I have to go unless we want to live with Aunt Haya for the rest of our lives.”

“Aunt Haya isn’t going to be happy that you’re leaving,” Midori mumbled.

Suiren scoffed. “Aunt Haya didn’t want you to learn earthbending because it reminded her too much of Dad. Do I look like I give a crap about what she thinks?”

“Okay, good point.” The younger girl pouted slightly. “Take me with you?”

“I’d love to ‘Dori, but it’s too-“ Suiren stopped mid-sentence, an idea crossing her mind. She turned back towards the Avatar, tapping the price sheet with a carefully sharpened nail. “You know what? I’ll do it for half price under one condition.”

“Which is?” Bolin prompted.

“I get to take my sister with me.”

“Absolutely not!” Mako exclaimed. “She’s-“

“A very skilled earthbender, trained in attack and defense by the best teachers in Gaoling.” Suiren cut in.

“I can cook, clean, I’ll earn my keep! I won’t be a bother, I promise!” Midori added.

“Well, she would be safer out of Kuvira’s direct line of attack, and Pema would appreciate the help at Air Temple Island. It’s not like we’re gonna send her along on the mission.” Asami reasoned.

“Asami’s right.” Korra agreed. “She can come as long as you don’t bring her on the mission.”

“Looks like we’ve got a deal.” Suiren extended her hand.

The Avatar shook it. Suiren’s hold was firm and hard, similar to her personality. “Looks like it.”

“We leave first thing in the morning,” Mako told the sisters, satisfied when he received two nods in return.

When the group was leaving the sisters’ house, Bolin brought up what everyone else was thinking. 

“Did Suiren and Midori seem familiar to you? Like, did they remind you of someone?”

“Now that you mention it, yeah.” Asami agreed.

Mako nodded along. “I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Korra shrugged. “After all, we just hired them. Plenty of time to get to know someone when they’re helping you take down a dictator!”

The group laughed as they walked back to the airship. Meanwhile, the cottage they left behind was deadly silent except for the kitchen, where the two sisters were whispering furiously.”

“Midori, we have to be careful about what we share. I’m scared to imagine what would happen if the Avatar finds out about them.” 

“We kept them a secret for thirteen years before they died, didn’t we? There’s no way anyone will find out.” Midori reasoned.

“I know, I just hope they don’t ask.” Suiren sighed. “It will be pretty easy to figure out who they were if the topic of parents comes up.”

Midori hugged her sister. “We’ll pull through this. I mean, how long can the mission last? We’ll be okay.”

“I know we will. We always have been.”


	2. A Heart to Heart

“You’re late.” Mako’s annoyed voice was the first thing Suiren heard when she and Midori trudged up to the airship the next morning.

“I wasn’t aware ‘first thing in the morning’ meant sunrise.” Suiren snapped. 

“Sorry, we got held up at home.” Midori apologized, elbowing her sister in the side. “Our aunt didn’t want us to go.”

Bolin helped load the bags into the airship. “So it’s just you two and your aunt then?”

Midori nodded. “Yeah, Aunt Haya. Our dad’s older sister. She raised him and took it upon herself to raise us.”

“Didn’t do that great of a job if you ask me.” The waterbender grumbled, earning her another elbow in the side. 

As Midori skipped up the walkway, dragging her sister behind her, she seemed eager to talk more with Bolin. Of course, it all made sense to Suiren. Back in Gaoling, they were always the weird orphan girls who lived right on the edge of the Swamp. It was always just the two of them. Neither had ever made any good friends. It was only natural for Midori to want to talk to someone her age. 

“Please excuse my sister, she’s not a morning person,” Midori said, dropping Suiren into an armchair. The furnishing of the airship was soft and plush, clearly designed for maximum comfort.

A quiet mumble came from the chair near the one Suiren was now nuzzled in, Korra’s head just peeking out from under a blue blanket. “Mornings are evil.”

“Something we can agree on, Avatar.”

Midori settled in on a sofa, tucking her legs under herself. Bolin sat next to her. He took her positive attitude as a go-ahead to ask more questions.

“Have you ever traveled by airship before?”

“No,” Midori answered, looking around in awe. “This thing is bigger than our house!”

Bolin smiled at her. “Are you excited to see Republic City?”

“Oh, definitely! I haven’t been outside of Gaoling in years! I mean, Suiren and I have been to the Swamp many times, but it’s so close to home it doesn’t count.” She answered, returning his smile.

Even Korra looked up once she heard the younger girl’s words. “What were you doing in the Swamp?”

“I could ask you the same question.” Suiren turned in the Avatar’s direction.

“What?”

Suiren sat up. “A few weeks ago you were in the Swamp. Stumbled in there, caused a ruckus, and spent multiple days training with Toph Beifong.”

“How do you know that?”

“You think you can barge into the Swamp, scare away all the animals with your screaming, fight some invisible enemies while nearly burning down the place in the process, and leave unnoticed?” Suiren scoffed. “Swampbenders aren’t deaf, you know.”

Bolin jumped in before it could turn into a full-blown argument. “You’ve met actual Swampbenders?”

“Our mother was one.” The older girl’s face remained stoic, though the topic was clearly hurting her.

“Our dad lived on the very edge of the Swamp. That’s how he and Mum met. We spent all our childhoods running around the place. We know it like the back of our hands. Our aunt didn’t really notice or care. It’s where Suiren learned waterbending.” Midori explained for her sister.

Suiren huffed in annoyance. “Tell them everything, why don’t you?”

“Stop being so defensive, why don’t you?” Midori countered. “I was answering a question.”

“Yeah, about one of the most personal things in our entire lives!” Suiren didn’t wait for an answer, instead choosing to pull a book out of her bag and lean back in her armchair. It was clear that the conversation was over.

“Midori? Can I ask you a… slightly personal question?” Bolin dropped his voice to a whisper. 

“Sure…?” The young girl glanced over at her sister. Being an assassin provided Suiren with very good hearing. Midori was sure she was listening in at this very moment. 

“What did Suiren mean when she said that your aunt didn’t really do a good job at raising you?”

“Well, Aunt Haya isn’t the motherly type. I think she only took care of us because she felt obligated to after our parents-“ Midori caught the sharp glare of Suiren, making her mind her words. “-died. I’m not sure if she even truly loves us.”

“She used us as free labour,” Suiren muttered under her breath.

“I get it. Mako and I are orphans too.” Bolin shrugged. “We didn’t know that we had any family left until a few years ago. We were brought up by the triads and a trainer from the probending arena in Republic City, so I know how it feels to only have an older sibling looking out for you.”

Suiren did, in fact, hear the conversation, but attempted to tune it out. She knew Midori like she knew her own mind. She was too kind, too trusting. Too quick to open up and spill priceless information that could cost Suiren her anonymity. Most people in Gaoling didn’t know she was an assassin, and she intended to keep it that way. Of course, that decision was going to become a whole lot more difficult now that Midori found herself a friend.

“What are you reading?” Suiren nearly jumped out of her skin. When did the firebender boy get there?

“Love amongst dragons.” She answered curtly. “My dad always took me to see the Ember Island Players perform during the summer. They butchered it every year.”

“Sorry I scared you.” Mako shrugged.

A scoff. “Please. Sneaking up on someone doesn’t count as scaring. It’s a cheap parlour trick.”

Mako looked uncomfortable. He felt obligated to make small talk with their new acquaintance, seeing as it seemed rude to leave her in silence. “Our siblings are getting along pretty well.”

“Too well.” Suiren narrowed her eyes. She almost slipped back into the comfortable state of mind she was used to until she realized the firebender was still perched on the side of her armchair. “Did you actually need something or can you leave me with my book in silence?”

“No...I don’t need anything.” He finally realized that the assassin wasn’t even going to pretend to want to talk to him. He decided to move over to talk with Korra. Suiren was too private of a person. Little did he know that Suiren was giving him the cold shoulder for a completely other reason.

“Hey, Suiren! Bolin’s gonna go show me to our room, okay?” Midori didn’t wait for an answer, choosing to run off with Bolin down the corridor.

“Midori, get back- why do I even bother?”

“Little siblings, am I right?” Mako attempted to joke, earning himself a weird look from Suiren’s direction.

Korra, on the other hand, genuinely laughed. “Good one, Mako!” 

“Korra… you’re an only child.” 

“I am aware.” Korra elbowed Mako in the side and got up from her seat. “Suiren, wanna go check on Asami with me?

“And why would I do that?”

“Eh...because the control room has a big window with pretty scenery?” Korra tried.

Suiren shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” She placed her book back into the bag and tossed the bag to Mako. “Take that to my room, will you? And don’t go digging through it, Fire Boy. We wouldn’t want you to impale yourself on one of my hidden knives, now would we?”

The waterbender laughed at Mako’s startled face as he nearly dropped the bag. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” The firebender relaxed. “Or am I?”

“That is not funny!”

After a whole day of flying over rolling green fields and numerous cities, the night finally fell. The full moon shone through a window, illuminating the small metal bedroom assigned to the sisters in a dull white light. The bright glowing lights of Republic City were only a few hours away, and the closer they got, the more anxiety built up in the pit of Suiren’s stomach.

“Renny, could you stop pacing for five minutes?” A pillow flew in the waterbender’s direction. Suiren sighed, flopping down on the bed assigned to her. Midori was right, she’s been pacing around the room for half an hour already. She couldn’t help it. The metal room was too stuffy, while the mattress and comforter were too soft. The impending feeling of doom didn’t help the situation.

“I can’t. I should have never agreed to this job. I can’t do this.” Suiren’s panicked voice was muffled by the comforter.

“Suiren, you’ve taken down more tyrants and warlords than I can count, or remember for that matter. Kuvira will be a piece of cake. You’re the best waterbender in the world, remember?” Midori hopped off her bed and sat on her sister’s. 

“I’m sure there are plenty of waterbenders better in the world than me.” Suiren rolled her eyes and groaned. “I’m not worried about Kuvira. It’s about the Avatar and her buddies. I don’t trust them.”

“Why not? Bolin is so nice!” 

“Because Bolin drove our dad to suicide and his brother killed our mum!” Suiren exploded. 

Midori flinched at the volume. “Wait...what?”

“Three years ago, during the battle of Laghima’s Peak. Mako shot her with lightning and left her to die while Bolin forced Dad to collapse the mountain to avoid prison. But you’re right, Bolin’s such a nice guy, isn’t he?”

The young earthbender shuffled back onto her own bed, covering her face with the comforter. She knew that her mother was murdered by opposers of the Red Lotus, but Suiren would never tell her exactly how it happened. Tears pooled in her eyes as she churned the information in her head. Mako and Bolin were so nice to her. There’s no way they could actually be responsible for the death of her parents, right?

...Right?

The bed shifted under her and Suiren hugged her from behind. Midori sunk into her sister’s arms, muffling her sobs with a pillow. Suiren stroked her hair, holding her close.

“I’m sorry I shouted.” The older sister whispered softly.

“Why didn’t you tell me how Mum and Dad died? How did you even know?”

“I have a few sources in the Republic City triads. I was over there for a job three years ago and I overheard them talking about it. They must have gotten it from Bolin. And I should have told you, I’m sorry. I just...wanted to protect you.”

Midori turned around. “From what?”

“You were seventeen, Midori! You were a child!” Suiren looked on the verge of crying too. “I wanted to protect you from all the bad things that exist in this world. Let you keep the innocence that was ripped from me.”

“What are you talking about?” Midori sounded so desperate to know the truth it sounded pathetic.

“You really think Aunt Haya didn’t use the first chance she had to rub what happened sixteen years ago in my face? She couldn’t wait to tell me how our mother was to blame for everything. How she knew that ‘swampbender scum’ like our mother would drag Dad into trouble.” A morbid chuckle escaped her lips. “I had to withstand years of emotional abuse from her because I was a waterbender like Mum. Everything I have ever done was to protect you. From the world, from Aunt Haya. You’re my sister, Midori. I love you more than anything in this life and I will always protect you.”

“I love you too.” Midori wiped at a stormy grey eye. “Can you...can you maybe stay with me tonight?”

“What about five years ago when you claimed you were ‘way too old to share a bed with your older sister’?” Suiren laughed quietly, attempting to get at least a giggle from her sister.

She was successful as the earthbender’s bright laughter filled the stuffy room. “Please, Renny? That way you can protect me from the monsters under the bed.”

“Fine, fine.” Suiren climbed under the comforter. “You’re such a dork, you know?”

“I kno- know!” Midori hiccuped, causing the sisters to laugh more. “Goodnight, Renny!”

“Goodnight, ‘Dori.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features my personal headcanon that Ming-Hua is from the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe. Since in this story Ghazan grew up in Gaoling, which is right near the swamp, I though I’d implement the headcanon. 
> 
> Also, I cried while writing the end of this chapter. I have a little sister myself so Suiren’s urge to protect her hits close to home.
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments, they are the biggest motivator!


	3. Old Memories

The next morning, Midori woke up alone. Bright sunlight shone through the big window, blinding her as she sat up. She didn’t hesitate before kicking away the itchy comforter that had been bothering her all night. 

Suiren was nowhere to be seen, which was strange because she was never an early riser. Even when they were kids, she would always beg for that “extra five minutes”. The habit got her into plenty of trouble with their aunt and at school, seeing as sleeping in often led to her being late. 

“I’m a waterbender. We rise with the moon.” She would grumble, before turning away and falling asleep again. According to their father, their mother would often use the same excuse.

The younger sister, however, was up bright and early on most days. And yet, she had no desire to get up now. The high altitude must have messed with her head, making her drowsy despite getting a full night’s sleep.

Begrudgingly, Midori pulled herself out of bed and changed out of her bed clothes. She never cared much about what she wore, as long as it was practical and easy to earthbend in. Suiren was the one with a slight semblance of a fashion sense. Keyword: slight. The older sister wore pretty much anything as long as it was either blue or black. 

After a glance in the mirror, Midori realized that she looked like a mess. Her eyes were still slightly puffy from crying and her hair stuck out in all different directions. Not having the energy to brush the knots out of the thick locks she was blessed with, she chose to quickly comb through them with her fingers. 

_ “She gets it from me.” Her father would say proudly as he finished off her braid with an emerald green ribbon. “Fabulous hair runs in the family.” _

_ Her mother would just roll her eyes and laugh. “Showoff.” _

She shook her head to clear it. Last night’s conversation must have really gotten to her if the repressed memories of her parents decided to resurface.

“Not today, brain, not today.” She whispered, throwing one last look at herself in the mirror and leaving the room.

“Morning, Midori!” The young girl nearly jumped out of her skin as she whipped around to see who called her name. It was Bolin, leaning against a wall and smiling widely.

“Morning…” She drawled, her eyes flickering up and down Bolin’s frame. “Were you waiting for me outside my door?”

Bolin seemed to realize the awkward position he was standing in and quickly straightened up, laughing nervously. “I wasn’t, I swear! I was passing by and saw you coming out so I thought I’d walk with you. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” The words slipped out of her mouth on instinct. To be completely honest, she didn’t want to be too close to Bolin right now. Not after what Suiren had told her last night. But it was too late to think of an excuse, so she offered him a faked half-smile, which he genuinely returned.

Everything Suiren said to her mere hours ago was still fresh on her mind. Part of her wanted to believe that her sister was lying. She was just jealous of Midori’s newfound friendship and wanted to alienate her away from the two brothers. 

Suiren wouldn’t lie about things like that, the more rational side of her reasoned, deciding to knock some sense into her with a pounding headache. She rubbed subconsciously at her forehead in an attempt to ease the pain. 

“Did you sleep okay? Nights up here can get pretty rough with the air pressure and everything.” Bolin struck up a conversation as they walked down the halls of the airship. “Or at least that’s what Asami says.”

Midori shrugged. “Eh, not really. The room was really hot and stuffy but it’s not like we can open a window.”

Bolin laughed. “True, true. I think you’re going to like Air Temple Island. Despite the name, you’ll get to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. There’s plenty of space for bending practise too. It’s off the coast of Republic City, surrounded by the ocean and-“

“The ocean?” Midori cut in. “Suiren is going to love that. Nothing’s better for a waterbender than an ocean. That’s what my mum used to say.” 

That was the second time her parents slipped into her mind that morning. What was up with her? The Avatar and her friends must have had something to do with it. Before Korra showed up, their parents were barely mentioned at all around the house. That was the way Aunt Haya wanted it to be. 

“What about you? How do you feel about the water?” Bolin asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. 

Midori scrunched up her nose. “I can’t stand it. Boats are my worst nightmare, honestly. I can’t even imagine being so far away from land for that long.”

“Fair enough.” The young man shrugged. “I get it. Must be an earthbender thing.”

“Must be…” She couldn’t muster up the will to think of a better response. Instead, she let him ramble on about anything that came to his mind. All the while, she wasn't paying much attention to whatever he was saying but did a pretty good job at pretending she was.

“Took you two long enough,” Mako told them as they entered the main room. He was sitting in one of the armchairs, looking bored. A few empty bowls stood on the coffee table in front of him, along with many scattered papers. 

Korra lazily opened one eye to look at them. She was curled up on a couch with a blue blanket and a pillow under her head. She looked seconds away from falling asleep so Mako must’ve dragged her out of bed at a very unreasonable time. Which, according to the way people who say “Mornings are evil” view time, must have been before nine o'clock.

Suiren, on the other hand, was wide awake. It was odd to see her up so early without hearing any accompanying complaints. She was carefully perched on the back of Korra’s couch, not acknowledging her sister’s presence. Instead, she was busy brushing through her waist-length hair. A task she considered therapeutic, while Midori thought of it more as a chore. She couldn’t have been more different from her sister in that regard.

Bolin sat down on the last remaining couch, patting the spot next to him invitingly. Very reluctantly, Midori sat on the very edge of her seat, keeping as far away from Bolin as possible without it looking suspicious.

“Alright, now that everyone is here, we can begin.” Mako cleared his throat but was quickly interrupted by Suiren.

“What about the other girl?”

“Asami is driving the airship.” The firebender sounded annoyed. 

Midori spoke up before he had a chance to continue. “But she was down here yesterday. Who was driving the ship then?”

“It was on autopilot. Now that we’re nearing Republic City, we can’t risk flying into a building.” Mako said through gritted teeth. “Are there any more questions or can I go on?” Receiving nothing but silence in response, he continued. “We’re going to stay on Air Temple Island for about two weeks. We’ll be spending that time carefully planning our next steps. Kuvira and her army are dangerous opponents and it will take a lot of preparation and extra training to take her down. Once we start the mission, we have to stick to the plan. Any wrong moves could cost us lives.”

Suiren made a noise, but it wasn’t clear whether it was a yelp of pain from tugging at a hair knot or a sharp intake of breath upon being reminded of the possible fatal outcome of the mission. 

Korra threw a nervous glance at the sisters. “You shouldn’t have said that, Mako. You should  _ not _ have said that.”

“Renny?” Midori fidgeted in her seat, somehow looking like a child despite being twenty years old. “You’re not going to die, are you?”

Suiren fixed Mako with a glare. “Don’t listen to what that idiot says, ‘Dori. You said it yourself, I've taken down more tyrants and warlords than you can count. I’ll be okay. I always have been.”

“You’re my sister and I have the right to get really worried about you. Besides, it’s not like you’re the most careful person in this world.” Midori mumbled stubbornly. 

The waterbender sighed. “Look, I promised to come back alive, didn’t I? And you should know by now that I never break my promises.”

“I know, but...” A frown crossed Midori’s face as she trailed off. “They promised to come back, too.”

The older girl whipped her head around so fast that her hair made a snapping noise behind her. Golden brown eyes met stormy grey ones, both sisters unexpectedly hit with the memories of the night their lives changed forever.

This didn’t happen often for them. Spending years living under a ban on any mention of their parents severely messed with their memory systems. Though, honestly, simply living with Aunt Haya would do that to your mind. The woman was, to put it simply, insufferable. Sometimes the sisters would recall and laugh over a vague moment or two on nights when they both couldn’t sleep, but that was the most reminiscing they ever allowed themselves. 

_ The door creaked open, echoing loudly through the quiet home. Suiren awoke with a small jump at the noise and blinked rapidly to get her eyes adjusted to the dark. She sat up and stared at her parents, as that was who entered the room. Of course, who else would be in her room in the middle of the night? _

_ “Ghazan, for the love of Raava, light a candle! I can’t see anything.” Her mother talked in a whisper, a note of panic evident in her words. _

_ “Mum? Dad?” Suiren spoke up quietly. “What are you doing in here?”  _

_ Ming-Hua’s face softened as she turned to look at her daughter. She walked over, the creaky floorboards staying silent under her light steps, and sat down on the bed. Suiren’s eyes flickered between her mother and her father in a confused manner. _

_ “Mama? What’s going on?” Midori sleepily muttered from her own bed, rubbing at her eyes. Ghazan gently lifted her up and brought her over to Suiren’s bed, placing her in Ming-Hua’s lap. Midori nuzzled closer, resting her head on her mother’s collarbone.  _

_ Ghazan sat by Suiren and wrapped an arm around her thin shoulders. Suiren leaned closer to her father, looking up at him and trying to figure out why he seemed so distraught.  _

_ “Suiren, Midori, we really hate to have to tell you this, but your father and I… well,” Ming-Hua sighed. “We have to leave for work. We’re going to the Southern Water Tribe.” _

_ That’s when Suiren noticed her parents wearing traveling clothes and black cloaks, not exactly sleepwear attire. They left during the night a few times before, but had never woken the sisters up to say goodbye. What was so special about this time? _

_ “When will you be back?” Midori asked tiredly. _

_ “In a few weeks,” Ghazan answered, though he sounded a little unsure of himself. “Haya will look after you while we’re gone.” _

_ “But I don’t like Aunt Haya! She’s mean to me.” Suiren protested. “Can’t we stay with Aunt P’Li like that one time?”  _

_ Ming-Hua shook her head. “She and Uncle Zaheer are coming with us.” _

_ “Oh. Must be really serious then.” Suiren slowly nodded. _

_ Ghazan attempted to distract the girls from how worried he sounded. “Don’t think about it too much. We’ll be back soon, we promise.” _

_ Midori smiled and climbed under the covers next to Suiren like she usually did when their parents were leaving. “Everything will be okay then, because Dad said so. And Dad never breaks his promises. Right, Dad?” _

_ “That’s right.” He ruffled her short hair. “When we get back, I’m going to teach you all sorts of cool earthbending tricks. Maybe even lavabending when you’re older. And, for your birthday next month, I’ll take you to Ba Sing Se.” _

_ “Really?” Midori’s excitement was interrupted with a yawn. “Well, you better come back soon then. I’ve always wanted to go to Ba Sing Se.” And with that, the little girl was asleep. _

_ “I better go check that everything is ready.” With Ghazan leaving and Midori asleep, Suiren was left alone with her mother. _

_ Ming-Hua cupped her daughter’s face with a water tendril, smiling somberly. “Suiren, darling, listen to me. This mission we’re going on- it’s dangerous. Very dangerous. I don’t want to scare you but…” _

_ Suiren’s eyes widened in fear and understanding. “But you might not come back.” Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence, yet somehow she kept herself from crying. _

_ “I’m sorry, my little Water Lily. I wish I didn’t have to place this huge responsibility on you-” Her mother leaned in closer. “Look after your sister for me, okay? You and I both know that we can’t trust Haya. She doesn’t like people like us. But you have to put up with her, for Midori’s sake. Promise me you’ll try to be civil?” _

_ Suiren huffed and wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek. “Fine.”  _

_ “That’s a good girl.” Ming-Hua brushed a stray curl behind her daughter’s ear. “Oh, and one more thing. I want you to remember that I love you. Your dad and I love the two of you more than anything in this life. We’ll do anything to get back to you sooner.” _

_ “I love you too.” Suiren threw her arms around her mother’s shoulders, hugging her as tight as she could. She didn’t show it, but the possibility of this being the last time she saw her parents terrified her. _

_ Ming-Hua gently pushed her back, despite never wanting to let her go. She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Take care of each other.” _

_ Suiren lied back down. She tried to push the horrifying thoughts out of her head as she closed her eyes, silently praying to every spirit she could name for the next few weeks to pass quicker. _

_ But three weeks passed and their parents still haven’t returned. A month, two, three. Both their birthdays came and went. The older girl began to accept the fact that they would never come back.  _

_ That only solidified when Aunt Haya pulled her aside one day and told her all about what happened at the South Pole. She jeered and taunted and laughed about how she knew this would happen. How she knew that their mother would end up getting their father into trouble.  _

_ “You’re living under my roof now. My house, my rules.” Haya commanded that day. “Your parents should not be mentioned unless I bring it up first. I don’t want my nieces to end up like that mother of yours, so no more waterbending for you, Swampbender Scum, and no more trips to that wretched place. Also, tell that sister of yours to stop whining all the time. It’s pathetic. They’re not coming back for you two. They abandoned you, get over it!” _

_ Breaking the news to Midori was by far the hardest thing Suiren ever had to do. And, considering her field of work, that was saying something.  _

The airship suddenly lurched to a stop, the force of the landing sending Suiren off balance and making her fall from the back of the couch onto the floor. The thud effectively knocked her out of her reverie. 

“Are you okay?” Bolin called out to her in between poor attempts at stifling fits of laughter. 

“Just fine.” She stood up and brushed the dust from her clothes. Her long hair had fallen in her face and she struggled to pull it all back into a ponytail. Eventually, nearly all of her hair behaved, except for one lock that had fallen right between her eyes. She had given up on brushing it away.

Mako nearly fell off his armchair when he saw her. The hair between her eyes gave her a distinct look, one that reminded him of something. Or someone. Someone he hadn’t seen in over three years. Someone he knew to be dead. 

He quietly scoffed at himself. He was being ridiculous. There’s no way Suiren had any correlation to  _ her _ . He was just being paranoid. He worked hard to get the nightmares about  _ her _ to stop, and he wasn’t going to let their new ally’s slight resemblance to  _ her _ bring them back. 

_ Besides, there’s no way someone like her could have possibly had children. No man would ever want her, not with her… defects.  _

“What are you staring at?” The waterbender had caught his gaze.

“Nothing.” He grumbled, trying to change the subject. “Where’s Asami? She landed the airship already. She should have been down here by now.”

“I’m right here, stop fussing.” Asami laughed, emerging from the hallway. “Get all your stuff together, it’s Air Temple Island time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry this took so long. I don’t have anything to say for myself, so I’ll just say that I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
> 
> My girls Midori and Suiren really don’t deserve the hand dealt to them. If I could, I would only write domestic Mingzan fluff with cameos from those two. Though I must admit, the angst is way more fun to write. 
> 
> Also yes, Mako will be a major jerk in this fanfic. As most of the Red Lotus fandom do, I have a lot of negative feelings about him. That last part with him might have honestly been slightly OOC, I will not lie. 
> 
> Congratulations to anyone who caught the She-Ra reference during the sisters’ flashback, by the way :)


	4. Air Temple Island

Suiren stiffened. As much as she hated the airship, she was not in the right mental headspace for Air Temple Island. Not after the memory that had just flashed through her mind. She subconsciously took hold of the lock of hair that had fallen between her eyes and began to twirl and twist it around her fingers - an old nervous tick she had developed as a child. 

On the other hand, Midori’s face lit up with almost childish glee. She jumped up from the couch and ran to a nearby window, pressing herself against the glass and observing the stunning scenery of the island.

Asami chuckled at the younger girl’s reaction. “You act like you’ve never seen an island before.”

“I have, but not like this one!” Midori refused to look away even for a moment. “Our dad used to take us to Ember Island every summer, and it was so touristy and show-offy and fake, but this place feels so… natural, you know? It feels real.” She wrinkled her nose. “Did that sound stupid?”

“No, it didn’t sound stupid, and I know what you mean. I lived here for a while after…” Asami faltered.

“After…?” Suiren prompted, grateful for a distraction from the anxious feelings brewing in the pit of her stomach.

“After my father got arrested.”

Midori took a step back from the window and turned around to face Asami. “Your father got arrested?”

“Yeah, during the whole Equalist debacle.” The green-eyed girl sighed. “Didn’t you hear? It was the headline in all the newspapers. ‘Hiroshi Sato - Equalist Sympathizer.’”

Suiren’s face softened. She knew all too well what it was like to have your parents’ imprisonment blasted all over the news. The then-five-year-old Avatar’s attempted kidnapping was the talk of the world for years, and Suiren worked hard to keep Midori away from it all. The younger girl knew what happened to their parents, of course, but she still didn’t need any extra reminders. Everything became easier in around two years when Master Tenzin’s oldest child was born and the media shifted its attention to her. Barely anyone spoke of the Red Lotus anymore, and Suiren was forever grateful for that.

_ That was, of course, until they escaped from their prisons and took down the Earth Queen and the walls of Ba Sing Se.  _

Mako stood up from his armchair and clapped twice to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, and that concludes today’s meeting of the ‘Tell the people you’ve met two days ago about your tragic backstory’ club.” He crossed the room and pulled down the lever that opened the airship and extended the walkway. “We have an important meeting to attend.”

Suiren glanced at Korra through her peripheral vision. “Does he have a permanent stick shoved up his ass or what?”

The Avatar snorted. “You have no idea.”

“ _ I heard that _ ,” Mako growled through gritted teeth before starting his descent down the walkway and motioning for the others to follow him. 

The cool ocean breeze blew in Suiren’s face as she exited the airship. In the distance, waves crashed against the boulders at the foot of the island. The waterbender inhaled deeply, relishing in the salty air, a small smile gracing her lips. 

Midori let out a quiet laugh at her sister’s rarely-seen serene expression. “Nothing’s better for a waterbender than an ocean, right?” 

Suiren snapped out of her calm state, blinking a few times to refocus on reality. “Right.” 

_ ‘Stop thinking about them.’  _ She mentally told herself. ‘ _ You’ve already reminisced enough for one day.’ _

Instead, she chose to focus on what was in front of her. Their ‘welcoming party’ consisted of three- which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be four- people. The first was a tall man with a beard, dressed in red and yellow robes. The blue arrow tattoo on his forehead gave away his identity immediately.  _ None other than Master Tenzin himself came out to greet them, huh? _

On his right was a woman donning a metal RCPD uniform, her shiny badge glistening in the golden sun. She had short gray hair, two scars along her right cheek, and a presumably-permanent scowl engraved on her face.  _ Chief Beifong, definitely, though Suiren couldn't quite recall her first name. _ _ Rin, was it? No, that didn’t sound right. Whatever. She’ll figure it out eventually. _

On Tenzin’s left was another woman, her clothing matching his in color. Even from afar, Suiren could make out her stunning bright green eyes. Her brown hair only just started graying on the sides and no wrinkles graced her features. In her arms, she held a smiling toddler, probably no older than four.  _ And this must be the mother of the airbending brood, Tenzin’s wife. Suiren never even bothered to learn her name, as the woman posed no real threat towards her. The airbending master and the chief of police, on the other hand… _

“Hey Tenzin, look!” Bolin smiled and motioned in Suiren’s direction. “We found her!”

“You didn’t  _ find  _ me. That makes it sound like I was hiding.” Suiren crossed her arms.

Bolin slowly nodded. “Okay then… We, uh, got her to work for us?”

Midori stood slightly behind her sister, looking around in complete awe. She had learned about the island in school, of course, but it was so much more grand and breathtaking to see it first hand. The ground beneath her shoes crunched as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Her fingers twitched and the tiny pebbles near her shook ever so slightly, making a grin split across her face. It took all of her self control not to dig her hands into the earth and bend to her heart’s content. Spending a full day in an airship, miles and miles above the ground, made her feel way too separated from her natural element. 

Chief Beifong tilted her head to get a better look at the younger girl. “I didn’t know assassins came with extra dead weight.”

“That is my sister you’re talking about.” Suiren measured the woman with a glare. “So I suggest you watch your mouth.”

Beifong scowled and locked eyes with Mako. “The plan was for you four to go to Gaoling and bring back an assassin to help us with Kuvira, not an assassin and her petulant sister.”

The waterbender tensed up and made to lunge at the police chief, but Midori caught her by the elbow, running her hand down her sister’s forearm in an unspoken gesture of  _ ‘Let me handle it’ _ . Begrudgingly, Suiren relaxed and watched Midori’s next actions carefully. 

Maintaining eye contact with Beifong, Midori dug her heel into the ground, causing a ripple in the tile and making the chief stumble. The woman managed to regain her balance before she fell and looked angrier than before.

“Why you little-“

Tenzin stuck out his arm in front of her. “Lin, please.”

_ Lin. So that was her name. _

“Fine.” Lin drew back, not taking her eyes off Midori. 

Suiren turned her head and gave her sister a scrutinizing glare, golden-brown eyes flaring with annoyance. Midori shrunk back, knowing a lecture about getting into unnecessary conflicts, especially with people like Lin Beifong, was coming once they were in the privacy of the room issued to them.

Mako cleared his throat, reminding everyone where they were and why they were there. Tenzin nodded in acknowledgment and collected himself, meeting the assassin’s eyes. “Welcome to Air Temple Island, um…”

“Suiren.” She filled in, quickly looking him up and down. His posture could be perceived as calm and welcoming by the average person, but Suiren easily noted the ram-rod straightness of his back and the position of his feet, which gave away that he was ready to defend himself should she try anything. She couldn’t exactly blame him. After all, she  _ was _ an assassin who he was inviting into the home he shared with his wife and three- or was it four?- children. He was smart and careful about who he trusted. Good. 

“Right. Suiren, we would like to thank you for agreeing to help us out in this trying time.” He bowed his head and smiled.

To everyone’s surprise, Suiren returned the smile and bowed back in the traditional Air Nomad way. “It will be a pleasure to work side by side with you, Master Tenzin.”

Tenzin’s eyebrows shot up and he now looked at her with a semblance of approval. “I see you’re quite familiar with Air Nomad culture.”

“You could say that.” Suiren shrugged. “My uncle- a close family friend, was particularly interested in it, so I picked up on a few things.”

“Interesting.” Tenzin hummed before remembering something. “Oh, of course,” He gestured to the woman on his left. “This is my wife, Pema, and our youngest, Rohan.”

Pema beamed and her green eyes twinkled with kindness, the toddler in her arms looking up at the sound of his name. “It’s a pleasure to meet you and we’re so grateful for you helping us.”

Suiren’s cheeks started hurting from all the smiles she had to give out. “Please, the pleasure is all mine.”

Midori let out a rather unladylike snort. “Suiren being polite for once in her life? Someone pinch me ‘cause I’m pretty sure I’m dreaming.”

_ ‘I’m about to  _ punch  _ you if you don’t shut up-’ _

“And this young lady is…?” Pema prompted as her eyebrows creased.

“As I said, this is my younger sister, Midori.”

“And why, pray tell, did you bring her here?” Lin asked, the note of superiority in her voice driving Suiren insane. 

“Part of the deal.” Mako cut it. “Suiren agreed to work for half the price if we let Midori come along. Not on the mission, of course, but we figured Pema could use some help around here.”

Suiren tuned the rest of the small talk out as the group turned and started making their way towards the main building of the island. Everything was going well so far, except for Midori deciding to antagonize Lin Beifong of all people. Tenzin and Pema were still apprehensive of her and would be for a while, but she honestly couldn’t give a crap about what two airheads thought of her. 

They were led into the dining room, where a woman in a blue dress with graying hair was sitting with her feet propped up on the table, lazily picking at her nails, and a man in one of those ridiculous airbending glider suits was leaning against a wall, feeding something to a strange-looking flying turquoise spirit.

Tenzin sighed in exasperation. “And these are my older siblings, Bumi and Kya, who should start listening when I tell them to one, stop putting their feet on the table, and two, stop feeding dragonfly-bunny spirits human food!”

“Hey, Bum-Ju is an official part of the family, he deserves to eat off our table! Besides, I don’t see you saying anything when Ikki feeds fruit tarts to the sky bison or when Meelo sacrifices whole bags of food to his lemur army.” The now-named Bumi protested.

“That’s different. We know what food animals can or can’t eat, but we know nearly nothing about spirits.” Tenzin countered. “What if they can’t digest it?”

“I’ve been feeding Bum-Ju human food for over three years and he hasn’t complained!”

“You’ve been feeding Bum-Ju human food for HOW LONG-“

“Enough!” Lin cut in, visibly pissed off. “Save your petty arguments for later. We have important matters to get to and we don't have all day!”

Kya and Bumi seemed to notice the assassin and her sister’s presence in the room for the first time. Kya raised an eyebrow. “And who might you two be?”

“This is Suiren, the assassin we hired to deal with Kuvira, and Midori, her sister who we brought along because Suiren promised us a discount!” Bolin answered, throwing his arms over the sisters’ shoulders. 

Suiren scoffed in disgust and she threw Bolin’s arm off her back with a quick jerk, while Midori awkwardly stepped out of his reach. Bolin shot each of them an apologetic smile, which Midori returned and Suiren ignored. 

Bumi looked at Suiren with curiosity. “Any particular reason you decided to drag your sister with you? I mean, I get wanting to look after your little siblings, but on an assassin’s mission?”

“First of all, she’s not coming on the mission. She’ll be staying here and  _ out of trouble _ .” Suiren resounded, glancing in Midori’s direction. “Second of all, if Kuvira is truly set on ‘uniting’ the Earth Kingdom, then Gaoling will be one of her next targets. Can’t exactly let the only family I have left fall into the paws of the dictator I’m supposed to take down.”

“But what about your aunt, though?” Korra said, confused.

Suiren barked out a laugh. “I couldn’t care less if Aunt Haya is forced to bow to the Great Uniter. Honestly, someone needed to put her in her place  _ a long  _ time ago.”

“Sounds like you severely dislike that aunt of yours, huh…?” Bumi shared an indecipherable look with Kya.

“Let’s put it this way, if my Aunt Haya was a sky bison and the Earth Queen decided to cook her alive and eat her, I wouldn’t even intervene.”

Midori masked her giggle with a fake cough. “If the Earth Queen tried to eat Aunt Haya, she’d complain about her being too bitter and then choke on the high concentration of salt.”

“Too bad the Earth Queen has already choked ‘cause I would  _ pay _ to see that.” Suiren realized that everyone was looking at her with horrified expressions on their faces. “What?” 

“Assassin humour is terrifying.” Bolin’s voice cracked as he spoke.

Suiren shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“We are getting off-topic again!” Mako snapped in frustration. “That’s it! Asami, no more sad childhood discussions, Midori, no more getting into fights with authority, and Suiren, enough with the disturbing assassin anecdotes already!”

“Damn, Suiren was right when she said that you have a permanent stick shoved up your ass,” Midori said, causing Kya and Bumi to burst out laughing and Mako’s right eye to twitch.

The firebender huffed. “Let’s just get going.” He grabbed Suiren by the wrist with full intent to drag her to Tenzin’s office with no further distractions. Suiren, in return, was having none of it. She took hold of his arm, twisting it as far as it would go, and dug her black-coated stiletto nails into his skin, hard enough to leave five small, half-moon shaped, red marks and draw some blood.

“Move the hand or lose the hand.”

“Why the hell did you do that?!” Mako yelped, ripping his arm out of the assassin’s grip.

“I don’t appreciate people I barely know grabbing me without my permission,” Suiren answered. “Try that again and next time you’ll get a dagger in your arm instead of my nails.” 

Kya walked over and looked closely at Mako’s arm, before handing him a handkerchief to clean off the blood droplets. “You’ll be fine. The marks should be gone in a few days, but I’d heed that warning if I were you ‘cause I’m not gonna heal a stab wound that your own stupidity got you.”

“Okay, okay, let's just go already.” Mako pressed the handkerchief to his arm and started up the stairs, the rest of the group, except for Pema and Rohan, joining him. Midori made to follow, but Suiren quickly blocked her path.

“Sorry, no annoying little sisters allowed.” The smirk was wiped off her face as Midori was about to argue. “No, I’m serious. You’re not coming on the mission, therefore you’re not allowed to attend the meeting. The fewer people know about the plan, the better.”

“But… I’m your sister!” Midori protested.” You tell me everything! I deserve to know what danger you’ll be putting yourself into.”

Suiren turned to face her completely. “Do you know my kill count?”

“Uh… no.”

“The name of at least one person I took down?”

“No…”

“Where any of my missions take place apart from a vague description of the surrounding towns?”

“No, I don’t.”

Suiren placed a comforting hand on her sister’s shoulder. “See? I don’t tell you everything. It’s for your own protection, ‘Dori. Raava knows what my enemies could do to you if they thought you had any information about my job.” 

“I guess that makes sense.” Midori glanced at the older girl. “But you  _ do  _ know that I can handle myself, right?”

“Of course, I personally made sure of that.” Suiren smiled, but whatever she was about to say next was interrupted by a shout from upstairs.

“Suiren! Hurry up!”

“Coming, Mako!” The waterbender swiftly climbed the stairs, looking over her shoulder one last time. “We’ll be down in a few hours. Remember, you’re earning your keep here, so make sure to do everything Pema asks of you, got it?”

“Got it!” Midori mock saluted, but visibly deflated once her sister was out of sight. She shuffled away from the staircase over to Pema, who was busy moving Rohan from one hip to another. “ _ Is _ there anything you want me to do?”

Pema shook her head. “I thought I’d let you have some free time for today and get you started on chores tomorrow. Why don’t you go outside and explore the island a little?”

“Um, alright, that sounds good. Call me if you need anything.” With that, Midori headed to the door and walked out into the sunlight. She slowly moved across the courtyard, looking at the intricate designs of the grey tiles under her feet. Maybe she could find a nice, quiet place for some earthbending practice since she wasn’t needed today. She skipped out on her daily exercise yesterday, as an airship was no place for bending, and felt the need to catch up.

Eventually, she found herself by an odd structure, the likes of which she’d never seen before, even in her school books. The structure consisted of a few dozen wooden panels placed in a circle, a few of them slowly spinning in the breeze. Midori didn’t know if the panels had a purpose or if they were there for decoration, but she couldn’t help but admire the spiral carvings on them.

A single thought shot through her mind.  _ ‘Uncle Zaheer would know what to do with these.’  _

“Hi!” Midori nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard a voice above her. She looked up to see a young boy sitting on a tree branch, watching her. He straddled the branch, crossing his legs under it, and swung downwards, coming face to face with the earthbender. “Are you the assassin Korra wanted to hire?”

“No, that would be Suiren, my older sister.” She took a step back from the upside-down boy, only to hear another voice behind her.

The second voice belonged to a girl with two paper-covered buns on top of her head. She looked to be just slightly older than the boy who was, presumably, her brother. “The assassin is your sister? How old is she? And how old are you? Why did she bring you with her? Are you an assassin too?”

Midori was taken aback by the speed at which the girl was talking, but did her best to answer the seemingly endless questions. “Uh, yes, she’s my sister. She’s twenty-three and I’m twenty. She brought me here because she was afraid that the Great Uniter could use me against her if she invaded Gaoling. And no, I’m not an assassin, I sell the vegetables I grow in our garden at the local farmer’s market.”

“So you and your sister have a three year age difference? That’s the same as Jinora and me! Also, why did no one tell me that the assassin is from Gaoling? I always wanted to go there! Can I come to visit you after your sister is done with Kuvira? What about-”

“Ikki!” Another girl emerged from behind the tree. “Stop with the questions already, you’ll give this poor young woman a headache!” Midori noticed that the girl, who was now facing her, had the same blue arrow tattoos as Tenzin. “Please excuse my sister, Miss…”

“Hey, none of that ‘Miss’ stuff, okay? It makes me feel old.” Midori laughed. “Call me Midori.”

The tattooed girl bowed in the same way Suiren bowed to Tenzin earlier. “It’s nice to meet you, Midori. My name is Jinora, and these are my siblings, Ikki and Meelo.”

The names registered in Midori’s head. “You’re Master Tenzin’s children, right?” Upon receiving three nods, she pointed to the structure made of wooden panels. “Well, could you tell me what that is then?”

“Oh, those are the spinning gates! It’s an airbending exercise.” Ikki answered. “Jinora, show her!”

Jinora handed the notebook she was holding to Meelo and jogged over to the opposite side of the gates. She blew a large gust of air at the panels, making them spin much faster than before, took a deep breath, and ran inside the structure. Midori caught glimpses of her through the panels and watched in admiration as not a single one came even close to touching her. She emerged completely unscathed, stopping the air currents with one flowing motion.

“That was so cool! You make it look so easy.” Midori told Jinora once the latter came closer to her.

“Thank you, and well, it is easy for me. I am an airbending master, after all.” Jinora pointed to the arrow on her forehead.

_ ‘Air Nomads get arrows tattooed along their chi paths when they become airbending masters.’  _ Midori remembered her Uncle Zaheer say. She looked more carefully at Jinora, now noticing the blue arrows on the backs of her hands. “I was gonna say, and I hope this doesn’t sound rude but aren’t you a little young to be a master?”

“Well, I’m fourteen now, but I was eleven when I received them.” The airbender straightened up proudly. “I earned them by helping my father and his allies save Korra and defeat the Red Lotus.”

Midori’s breath hitched in her throat. The girl right in front of her was complicit and directly involved in the battle that took the lives of both her parents. Of course, Jinora wasn’t the one who killed them, that ‘achievement’ belonged to Mako and Bolin.  _ Oh, spirits…  _ It seemed like every person she met in the past two days was in some way responsible for the downfall of the Red Lotus. She wouldn’t be surprised if Kya and Bumi fought her parents at some point as well. What else was she expecting? In the eyes of the world, her family were the ‘bad guys’. It was natural for people to be proud of helping take them down, and Midori understood that. Doesn’t mean the constant reminders hurt any less. She scrambled around for something to say, only managing a quiet “Impressive, especially for someone your age.”

The siblings didn’t notice her sudden change in mood. Meelo hopped off his branch and looked her up and down. “Are you a bender?”

In response, Midori stomped her foot, making the earth under Meelo’s feet shoot up and send him into the air. He opened the wings of his glider suit and gracefully floated back to the ground. “Do that again!”

Midori complied and soon got both Ikki and Meelo demanding she send them flying over and over again. It quickly got turned into a game. Midori would raise the ground, adding an extra fifty centimeters every time she did, and the two younger airbenders would test how many laps around the island they could fly before landing. Jinora recorded the results in her notebook, claiming it would help Asami ‘know what improvements to make’.

Their little game was spied on by a certain golden-brown eyed assassin, who watched from the windowsill in Tenzin’s office. Her lips lifted in a tense smile. It was nice to see her sister laughing and having fun, especially with everything Midori learned about this past couple of days and the feeling of impending doom that no doubt was stirring somewhere deep inside her. What else would she be feeling when her last family member was about to set off on what was essentially a suicide mission? As much as Suiren didn’t want to admit it, the risk of her perishing, or getting severely hurt at the very least, was way too high for comfort.

“Suiren?” Tenzin called from his desk, she looked over, raising an eyebrow. “We would like to ask you a few questions about your job and skills.”

“Go ahead. Though I can’t promise I’ll answer all of them. People in my line of work tend to be rather… private.” She eyed Lin Beifong cautiously. 

“Right, of course.” The airbending master nodded and gestured for Beifong to take the lead.

“You are a waterbender, correct?” The chief asked.

“Yes.”

“What is the extent of your abilities?”

Suiren crossed her legs. “Not to jerk myself off, but according to some sources I’m considered one of the best waterbenders of the crime world. Of course, you wouldn't know that unless you asked the right person. I’ve mastered the sub-skills of icebending, plantbending, and steam manipulation by the time I was sixteen, and waterbending on its own a few years before that. Also, though I’m not professionally trained, I’m a pretty good healer.”

Beifong narrowed her eyes. “Right. And where, might I ask, did you learn all this?”

“My mother was a waterbender from the Foggy Swamp tribe. She started teaching me before I could even walk and did so until she…  _ died _ … when I was seven. Since then, I would often sneak off into the Swamp and was taught by the masters there.” The assassin cursed under her breath.  _ Don’t ask more about her. Please. _

“Now, about your ‘line of work’, as you call it.” Beifong walked over to the windowsill. “Is your job legal?”

“All’s fair in love and war.” Suiren shrugged. 

After that, the simple questioning turned into an interrogation. Despite having the literal high ground, her position on the windowsill giving her a few extra inches on Beifong, Suiren felt rather small under the scrutinizing gaze of the police chief. She didn’t show it, of course, and held herself with an air of superiority, like she was doing Beifong a favour by answering her questions. She took great pleasure in seeing that her attitude drove Beifong up the wall.

“Who do you work for?”

“Myself. Gangs and triads tried to hire me before but I have no time for their petty turf wars.”

“What is your body count?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that,  _ Chief  _ Beifong.”

“How do we know you’re not going to double-cross us?”

“You don’t. You’ll just have to trust me and pray that Kuvira doesn’t offer to pay me more.”

The questioning seemed to go on forever. The way Beifong never paused to think about what to ask made Suiren assume that she prepped the questions beforehand. Some of them were rather generic, sure, but most didn’t sound like anything she would ask a common criminal. It made her feel... honoured, that Lin Beifong herself would take time out of her day to put together a questionnaire tailored specifically for the assassin. 

Finally, Beifong sighed and rubbed the sweat from her brow. “Last question. Do you have any affiliation with the Red Lotus?”

Suiren was never more relieved to have her feet off the ground and out of Beifong’s seismic sense reach.

“No. I have done plenty of research on the organization, but they’ve never tried to recruit me and I’ve never had any contact with any of the members.”  _ Such a blatant lie.  _ She spent nearly a third of her life surrounded by the four people who were part of what was essentially Xai Bau’s inner circle. Hell, her parents, aunt, and uncle were the four who led the attack on the Northern Air Temple and the newfound Air Nation three years ago. Their actions resulted in Korra being missing in action for three years and allowing Kuvira to start her siege of the Earth Kingdom. If anyone in the room found out about her parentage, she’d be dead meat.

“She’s clear,” Beifong said to Tenzin, before nodding at Mako. “Detective, you have the floor.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s go over everything we know about Kuvira and the Earth Empire…”

Suiren was only half listening to what he was saying. Nothing said in the meeting would present her with any new information, considering that she’s been using her ‘friends’ in high places to keep tabs on Kuvira since she first started posing a threat. Suiren held plenty of disdain for the Great Uniter, mostly because she represented everything the assassin was against: tyranny, dictatorship, abuse of power. But there was another reason and an awfully petty one at that. Kuvira’s army rebuilt the walls of Ba Sing Se, the destruction of which had been her father’s life goal. It felt like Kuvira was disrespecting his memory in some way, even though she wouldn’t have even known who took down the walls in the first place.

_ You’re thinking about them again _ . She rubbed at her forehead, commanding the thoughts to disappear, and instead chose to focus on what was happening down in the courtyard. It looked like the flying game had come to a close, if the uneven ground, a result of repeated earthbending, was anything to go by. Midori sat cross-legged at the base of some strange structure made of wooden panels, a bowl of fruit in her lap, and a ring-tailed flying lemur on her shoulder. The oldest of Master Tenzin’s kids sat by her, reading a book, while her sister‘s mouth was going a mile a minute, probably rambling about lemurs or bison or some other creature, and her brother was messing around with a lemu of his own, making it perform tricks to get fruit as a reward. 

_ ‘Midori isn’t even that much older than them.’  _ Suiren thought.  _ ‘What will happen to her if I die?’  _ She glanced at the ongoing meeting, with Mako still giving his Earth Empire eulogy and the rest of the group listening attentively. The waterbender leaned against the cold glass of the window, hoping and praying to every spirit she knew that she hadn’t made the wrong choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hey, after OVER THREE MONTHS I finally sat my ass down and wrote this goddamn chapter! It's another dialogue heavy one, though honestly I don't even know how to write anything else, heh.
> 
> My tablet exploded halfway through writing this chapter, so I had to get used to typing on a computer which is why this took longer than I had originally planned. That, of course, only happened last week and doesn't explain my three month absence but... yeah I have nothing to say for myself
> 
> Let's hope that I can get chapter five out before 2021!


	5. The Tenth Day

In the week and a half that the sisters had lived on Air Temple Island, Suiren had decided that she absolutely despised the place. As the endless cycle of meetings and discussions of battle strategies continued, she could feel her sanity slowly deteriorating and her desire to abandon the mission, grab Midori and run all the way back to Gaoling increasing. 

‘ _ Do it for her,’  _ Suiren would think to herself. ‘ _ You need that money for Midori. It’ll all be worth it in the end… If you live long enough to see it, that is.’ _

Even with the discount she offered in exchange for the airbending family taking in Midori for the duration of the mission, the money she’d be getting was almost triple the amount she usually charged. She built up her resolve for the task ahead by imagining how much easier life would get when…  _ if  _ she came home. They’d have enough money to pay the ever-growing bills for over a year ahead and still have tons left over. They would no longer be living from ‘paycheck’ to ‘paycheck’ and she could finally afford to stay in Gaoling for a prolonged period of time, not worrying about a thing and simply enjoying her life with her sister, just like the two of them had always wanted.

Thanks to Midori’s vegetable garden, which she was apprehensive of leaving behind as she knew their Aunt Haya would not bother to take care of it in her absence, the two seldom struggled to keep themselves fed and clothed. Midori had started it when she was nine or ten, and the idea of selling the produce hadn’t crossed their minds until a few years later when a travelling merchant was passing by and offered them a trade. 

Two sacks of sweet potatoes later and the girls were left with a handful of tunics and robes from the northeastern Earth Kingdom, just in time as Midori had hit her growth spurt. As he was leaving, the merchant suggested they open a stall at the local farmer’s market. It took a while to figure everything out, but soon enough business was booming. If Suiren  _ did _ back out of the mission, at least she had a guarantee that her little sister wouldn’t starve. 

But still, she powered on through the hours upon hours of Mako’s pretentious blabber, Tenzin’s overbearing advice, and Beifong’s scrutinizing glare, repeating  _ ‘Do it for her _ ’ over and over again in her head. She clung to the phrase like a lifeline and could almost ignore the dark cloud of dread hanging over her as she imagined Midori’s grinning face when she did eventually return, not unscathed but not fatally hurt either. 

The only reprieve from the constant strategizing was the couple dozen minutes in between the final meeting of the day and curfew when she could fit in some waterbending practice under the moonlight. Despite never touching her skin, the water somehow washed away all the concerns and worries that had formed throughout the day. The exercise helped her sleep better too. After going through all her usual forms, occasionally including plant, steam, and icebending if she was feeling up to it, she would move to sit at the edge of one of the cliffs, watching droplets dance around her fingers while the waves crashed against the rocks under her. It was so therapeutic and calming that she caught herself nearly falling asleep multiple times, right on the spot.

The spot which reminded her so much of her dear mother.

Ming-Hua used to take Suiren out on nights like these when the sky was clear and the stars were shining. There was no ocean in Gaoling so the two would sit side by side on the old abandoned pier of a small lake, dipping their feet in the water. Suiren would nuzzle into her mother’s side and listen to the stories, myths, and legends of the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe. Her favourite was always the story of the three tribesmen who lived during the Hundred Year War and were the first to leave the Swamp to aid Avatar Aang during the Day of Black Sun. 

_ “I wanna help Avatar Aang too! Like Due, Huu and Tho!”  _

_ Her mother chuckled. “Avatar Aang passed away, Renny. There’s a new one now.” _

_ “Really?” Suiren furrowed her brow. “Who is it, then?” _

_ “We don’t know yet, but they’re gonna be from one of the Water Tribes.” _

_ “How do you know that?” _

_ “That’s how the Avatar cycle works. Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Aang was an Air Nomad, so this new Avatar will originally be a waterbender.” Ming-Hua shifted her position so that Suiren could climb into her lap. _

_ “Hey, I’m a waterbender!” The little girl’s eyes lit up like embers. “Do you think I might be the new Avatar?” _

_ “Afraid not, sweetheart. The new Avatar is born on the same day the old one dies, and Aang died when you were two.” _

_ “Oh. Okay.” Suiren pouted and looked away, but Ming-Hua quickly placed a water tendril under her chin and lightly turned her face.  _

_ “Don’t worry, my little Water Lily. I’m sure you’ll get to help the new Avatar someday.” _

Who knew that her mother would end up being right?

That lake was where Suiren bent water for the first time, a few months away from her fourth birthday, under the light of the full moon. She was watching how the spring breeze made the lake water lap at the stilts of the old pier and subconsciously stretched out her right arm, palm downward, and slowly raised it. A small stream of water followed. Her concentration broke as she turned to look at her mother’s reaction. Ming-Hua was observing her with calculating eyes, gaze flickering from her to the water.

_ “Again, Renny.” She said. “Do it again.” _

Suiren tried again, tensing every muscle in her body and staring intently at the lake. She slowly repeated her previous motion, and sure enough, the water followed, this time separating from the lake and turning in a small bubble, levitating right above her hands as she turned her palms. Eventually, the bubble burst, but she didn’t have time to sulk over it as her mother had scooped her up with her tendrils, planting kisses on both of her cheeks and whispering  _ “You’re a waterbender!”  _ into her ear. Suiren still remembered how proud her mother looked at that moment. 

After her parents’ imprisonment, she never went back to that lake again. 

By the time Suiren was done with her waterbending practice, Midori was, more often than not, already asleep. Not wanting to wake her, the older sister silently changed into her bedclothes and climbed under the sheets, falling into a dreamless slumber, only to be dragged out of it at the early hours of the morning for another meeting before she'd even had the chance to wake up properly. Breakfast was usually skipped.

The only time Mako allowed Korra, Bolin, Asami, and Suiren out of meetings during the day was to eat lunch and dinner, though the former, and sometimes the latter, was often brought up to Tenzin’s office by the air acolytes with Midori hot on their heels. The younger girl used any excuse she could find to see her sister more often. Suiren appreciated it. She’d pick the company of her seldom-quiet little sister over the self-important Mako or the overly bitter Lin Beifong any day.

One thing Suiren did not appreciate, though, was that over the past nine days she’d had the misfortune of crossing paths with Prince Wu. The guy was still boarding at Air Temple Island and, unlike Midori, refused to help Pema with any of the work. He spent all day cooped up in his room avoiding all responsibility now that Mako was too busy to be his personal bodyguard and follow him around Republic City. He usually slept through breakfast and turned in for the night before dinner, insisting on his beauty sleep, and he wasn’t allowed in the meetings, so the people who had to deal with him most often were the air acolytes and, by extension, Midori.

According to Bolin, Wu actually should’ve been staying with his and Mako’s extended family at the Sato estate, which Asami has been refraining from using because it brought back unwelcome memories about her father. The only reason Wu was on the island was that Mako decided that all the attention his Grandma Yin gave him would go to his head and give him an even bigger ego, and stopping that from happening was something everybody could agree on. Though she didn’t say it, Suiren thought that if the guy had any bigger of an ego, he would simply spontaneously combust.

“Prince Wu of the Earth Kingdom, it’s a pleasure to meet the acquaintance of such a fine young woman.” He had said when Korra introduced him to Suiren during the latter’s second day on the island. He pressed a kiss to the assassin’s knuckles, which she only allowed because Midori had asked her to “Try and be nicer to people” the night before.

All hopes of Suiren being nice evaporated when Wu decided to ask her out on a date. 

Part of her wanted to slap him with a water whip right then and there, but Midori’s request rang through her ears and she instead chose to look him up and down, scrunching up her nose in disgust. “I’d rather give Mako a blowjob.” 

Luckily, no child younger than Jinora had been present in the room, otherwise Korra and her allies would have a very angry airbender matriarch and a very dead assassin on their hands, and would’ve had to find someone else to deal with Kuvira. 

Midori snorted, and no one knew if the cause of the unladylike noise was Wu’s proposition or Suiren’s response. “You went for the wrong girl, pal.” She elbowed her sister in the side. “She’s about as interested in men as an air nomad is in pork chops.”

Wu’s eyes widened in realization and understanding before a flirty smirk appeared on his face. “How about you then, hm?” Any further advances of his had been put to an immediate stop when he caught Suiren’s glare. If looks could kill, the prince would be dead ten times over. “Actually, you know what? Never mind. Have a nice day!” 

Later in the evening, Suiren found him in a hallway and beckoned him over with a finger. Once he was close enough, she made sure no acolytes were around before grabbing him by his mustard-yellow scarf and sneering in his face. “You come within six feet of my sister again and I’ll make sure the Earth Kingdom monarchy line ends with you, got it?”

“Got it, Ma’am!” He saluted her and scampered off as soon as she released her hold on his scarf. 

She wasn’t actually going to kill the guy, of course, despite the idea sounding all too tempting. It wasn’t like the Earth Kingdom monarchy did the world any major favours since the end of the Hundred Year War, what with the Dai Li still terrorizing the streets of Ba Sing Se and the walls of the ‘great’ city going right back up not even a few months after her father brought them down. 

And if her parents hadn’t been so careless as to forget about the existence of the pesky prince when they had assassinated the Earth Queen, Suiren wouldn’t have had to tolerate his presence during her stay on the island.

“Smells like new money, dresses like fake royalty!” The waterbender ranted during the night following their first meeting with the prince, pacing up and down the room she was sharing with her sister. Said sister watched and listened, but refrained from commenting to avoid Suiren springing into another tangent. When the older girl finally fell into bed, exhausted after a long day, she muttered something about the mattress being ‘too stiff’. Midori quietly giggled to herself. She wasn’t even shocked that the constantly irritated Suiren would find things to complain about even while being on the brink of collapsing. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” The tiny humph of indignation made the earthbender further struggle to contain her laughter. She shook her head, pulling a blanket over her half-asleep sister’s shoulders, and leaned down to kiss her forehead, just like the golden-brown eyed girl herself would do when Midori was younger. As she turned to climb under her tr46yown covers, she caught a quiet mumble of “Night, ‘Dori” from the other side of the room. No more words were heard from the assassin until the next morning.

Much to Suiren’s approval, Wu, most likely fuelled by fear, stayed true to his word and didn’t continue his attempts at courting Midori. Not like the girl had much time for some lousy wannabe monarchs anyway, Pema made sure she always had some task or another to complete. After noticing the newly-formed connection between the girl and the airbending kids, the woman had given her what the other acolytes would’ve called ‘two and a half hours of torture’, yet Pema herself named it ‘babysitting duty’ and swiftly saddled her with taking care of Rohan as well. 

Midori didn’t mind the presence of Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo too much. The latter two flocked to her like turtleducklings did to their mother, following her around everywhere she went, while Jinora tagged along to stop them from pestering her when she was busy. And, she must admit, even though she only had to spend a maximum of three hours with him a day, she had grown rather fond of little Rohan. It felt nice to not be the youngest for once. The toddler was one of the least fussy children she’s ever met, and, along with his oldest sister, balanced out their wild middle siblings nicely.

“You know, I really like having you here,” Jinora said one day. The two of them were sitting under a tree, leaning against the trunk. Jinora was, as always, reading a book while Midori used her bending to make Rohan chase after some small pebbles. Through her peripheral vision, the older girl kept an eye on Ikki and Meelo, who were taking turns running through the spinning gates.

“Really?”

“Really. Not counting my siblings, you’re the person closest to me in age on this island. There used to be others, like Opal and-“ A light blush covered Jinora’s cheeks as she tucked the bookmark between the pages and put the novel aside. “And Kai, but they’re all too busy now. Opal’s losing her mind over her family while staying at her aunt’s and Kai is still going on those patrol missions.” 

“Patrol missions?” Midori raised an eyebrow.

“Something my dad came up with in the past three years. Airbenders were to patrol remote towns and villages in the Earth Kingdom in groups of two, supposedly to maintain peace and balance while Korra was recovering after the battle of Laghima’s Peak.” The earthbender’s flinch went unnoticed. “But I think it’s just Dad’s way of keeping track of what the Earth Empire’s up to.”

Midori nodded and spared a glance at Jinora before looking back at the toddler in front of her, making sure he didn’t put one of the stones in his mouth. “So what’s up with this Opal girl?”

“She’s Chief Beifong’s niece. Her immediate family was all captured by the Earth Empire’s forces, except for her oldest brother, who betrayed them and is engaged to Kuvira. Now the poor girl is refusing to visit and talk to us because we, as pacifist nomads, didn’t want to use force and violence to get her family back.” Jinora explained, sighing as she finished.

The earthbender bit her bottom lip. “I never knew Chief Beifong had a sister.”

Ikki floated down in front of them. “Neither did we until Opal became an airbender after the Harmonic Convergence and Aunt Lin had a HUGE fight with Suyin when they came to pick her up from Zaofu.” Before Midori could ask anything else, Ikki had run off to continue whatever game she’d been playing with Meelo. 

“I… actually kind of get where Opal is coming from.”  _ And not only because my parents were once imprisoned too _ . “If  _ my _ sister ever got captured by Kuvira, I’d go to the Spirit World and back to rescue her…” She trailed off, suddenly remembering the awfully real possibility of that very thing happening to Suiren.

Jinora placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure Suiren will be alright. From what I’ve heard and seen, she’s a very skilled assassin and an amazing waterbender.”

“I  _ know  _ that she’ll be okay. She and I always have been. But… she always accepts the most dangerous of missions and I go insane worrying about her! I don’t complain because it’s our main source of income and the dangerous jobs pay more but… oh spirits! She can’t even send me any letters while she’s away because it poses a risk of her getting tracked, so I wouldn’t find out if anything had happened to her until… it’d be too late. I have no idea what I would do if she died…” Not wanting to dwell on the thought and cry in front of the airbending kids, she blinked her tears away and forced a smile. “By the way… how  _ do  _ you know that Suiren is an amazing waterbender? I mean, sure, she brags about it nonstop, but you don’t seem like the type to believe something unless you see it.”

Jinora blushed again, this time her entire face turning red. “I… may or may not have been watching her late-night waterbending practices out of my window…” She looked away as Midori erupted with laughter, any of her previous sadness forgotten. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it! It’s just… when she bends, it’s like the water is a part of her! Of course, the principle of waterbending is for the water to be an extension of yourself, but it’s different when she does it. I’m not sure how to explain it, but her bending is simply-“

“Mesmerising.” Midori filled in. “I would know. I used to watch her at night too.”

“You did?”

She grinned sheepishly. “Got in big trouble for it when she finally caught me. That’s when she stopped using the backyard and started sneaking off to the Swamp to practice, so I wouldn’t be tempted to stay up past my bedtime to watch.” 

“But couldn’t she have just practiced during the day?” Jinora asked.

“Nope. That was another thing between her and-“ She hesitated before finishing her sentence. She was certain she could trust the airbender next to her. Jinora was mature and reliable, especially compared to her siblings. Plus, it’s not like she was going to mention anything too revealing while she retold the events of her and Suiren’s childhood. Midori wasn’t the smartest, but she wasn’t stupid. “Her and our mother.” A shocked expression appeared on Jinora’s face. Understandable, as the sisters still rarely mentioned their parents, even with their Aunt Haya no longer around to ban them from bringing up the topic. 

“Our Mama would always practice her waterbending after the sun had set, saying that the moon made her stronger, and she taught Suiren to do the same. They’d practice together all the time. I remember how restless Mama got whenever a full moon was due, while, just between you and me, Suiren often got very grumpy.” She stopped her take to let Jinora giggle. “They would always spend the week of the full moon in the Swamp, living with the swampbender tribe, because Mama wanted Suiren to learn the traditional swampbender ways. Renny never did quite grasp it after Mama… you know.”

After a minute of silence, Jinora spoke up. “Thank you for telling me that.”

“No problem. I definitely needed to get that off my chest.” The earthbender sighed and ran a hand through her raven-black hair. “It’s been a while since I talked about  _ them  _ so openly with anyone but Suiren.”

“Well, if you ever want to talk, I’ll be here to listen.” The airbender smiled. 

“Thanks, Jinora. You’re a good kid.” Midori was startled when the teenager pulled her into a hug but happily returned it. “By the way, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure you’re the only person on this island, apart from me, who has seen my sister’s bending,”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah! From what she told me, Mako once asked her to ‘demonstrate her abilities’ during a meeting, and she said, and I quote - ‘Piss off, Fire Boy, I’m not a circus animal exhibit.’” 

Jinora gasped. “I understand that Mako didn’t say it in the best way, perhaps if he wanted to see her bending he should’ve asked her to spar instead, but doesn’t her answer seem a little… harsh to you?”

The earthbender shrugged. “That’s just Suiren for ya.” 

About a dozen more minutes passed when Midori noticed the air acolytes coming back from fruit picking with full baskets. She jumped to her feet, scaring Jinora who had returned to her book. “Well, looks like babysitting duty’s over. Time to go bake some pies!” Picking up Rohan from the ground, she motioned for the remaining three airbenders to follow her as she jogged towards the kitchens in the main building, secretly hoping that Suiren wouldn’t find out what she had told to Master Tenzin’s oldest daughter.

On the morning of the sisters’ tenth day on the island, Suiren was surprised to see that the sun was close to its peak in the sky by the time she woke up. On all previous days, the air acolytes were sent to drag her out of bed just after sunrise, per Mako’s request. Unfortunately for her, none of the overly descriptive promises of slow and painful deaths deterred the acolytes from their task. Before she knew it, she’d somehow end up in Tenzin’s office, surrounded by the people she wanted to see the least, with an empty stomach and still in her bedclothes.

She was almost glad to see that Korra was in the same boat. The Avatar even had to sit next to Bolin so he could nudge her awake whenever she dozed off, which was rather often. Suiren didn’t get that ‘luxury’ as everyone was terrified of being within a two-meter radius of her after she stabbed Mako with her nails on her first day there. 

On the complete opposite hand, a certain Miss Asami Sato always looked perfect in the mornings: a full face of makeup and neatly styled hair. The assassin was convinced she had sacrificed some poor unfortunate soul to Vaatu because there was no way anyone could look like that at six in the morning without the interference of the supernatural.

Upon getting dressed and making her way across the courtyard, Suiren learned from an acolyte that Tenzin had decided to give everybody the tenth day off. And good thing he did, too, as none of the information about Kuvira and the Earth Empire would stay in anyone’s heads if Mako kept refusing to let them take breaks or get a full eight hours of sleep. 

“We need to be as prepared as possible for anything Kuvira might throw at us.” The firebender would say. “We can’t achieve that when all you want to do is slack off!”

Though she didn’t show it, Suiren was grateful for the day off. The lack of rest was making her much more agitated than usual, which was saying something, and the bags under her eyes were starting to look like bruises.

As her bare feet pattered along the sun-warmed tiles, she heard and felt her stomach’s loud complaining. The last thing she ate was half a carton of seaweed noodles from some 24-hour takeout place Korra had dashed to after their last meeting of the day had concluded, and that was over ten hours ago. She allowed herself a small sigh of relief once she realized she didn’t have to skip breakfast today. She tied her long hair back into a low ponytail with one hand and opened the sliding door with the other.

“Morning…” Suiren trailed off as the entire dining room fell silent and turned to look at her, all with the same odd look on their faces. “Did I miss something?”

Tenzin held up a rolled-up and sealed letter. “Yes, this came for you in the mail  _ very _ late last night.”

She stiffened. “You didn’t open it, did you?”

“Of course not. That would be highly inappropriate.” Tenzin said, bowing his head. He tossed the letter upwards and sent it in the waterbender’s direction with a gust of air. 

Suiren caught it, turning it around in her hands a few times to examine it, and went to sit in her usual spot at the far corner of the table, between Asami and Korra. After a moment of hesitation, she carefully tucked the scroll into the front of her shirt and reached for the food.

“Aren’t you gonna read it? It could be something important.” Korra asked.

“Breakfast now, letter later. Besides, the only reason someone would write to me would be to offer a job, but due to our current situation, I’m afraid I’ll have to-“ She smirked. “Turn them down.” 

Korra shrugged and returned to her own food, which was the cue for the casual breakfast chatter to continue. From across the table, Midori stared at her sister for a little too long before sighing and turning her attention back to Bolin, who had made it his mission to give her a detailed rundown of every single adventure he ever had with Korra and the rest.

“And so just as Unalaq had as all in the-“ She tuned him out, fidgeting in her seat and sneaking glances at her Suiren. She didn’t know why she cared about the letter so much, it was probably a job offer, just like her sister had said, but something deep inside her was insisting that it was something a lot more important than that.

A minute passed. Five. Ten. Suiren was no closer to finishing her meal and opening that spirits-forsaken letter. Eventually, Midori’s restlessness became too much for her to handle. She held up a hand to stop Bolin’s neverending flow of words and sat up a little straighter. 

“Suiren?” She waited until she got a hum of acknowledgment from the assassin. “Could you  _ please  _ read that damned thing already? I wanna know what it’s about!”

The older sister raised an eyebrow. “Curiosity killed the cat.”

“But satisfaction brought it ba-ack!” Midori replied in a sing-song voice.

Suiren huffed in mock annoyance, swallowing the remaining food in her mouth and pulling the scroll out of her shirt. She promptly, and rather unsuccessfully, tried to unfurl the letter with her free hand. Groaning in frustration at her failure, she then stuck her right sauce-covered index finger straight into her mouth. After a few seconds, she wiped the clean but wet finger on the front of her clothes, at last managing to straighten the paper, and began to read.

Pretending to listen to whatever Bolin was rambling about from next to her, Midori watched Suiren carefully, taking note of any small change in her stoic facial expressions. Anyone who didn’t grow up with the assassin wouldn't be able to understand what was going through her head, but the earthbender could practically hear her sister’s entire thought process. Suiren rolled her eyes when, Midori guessed, she recognized the handwriting. Strange. Must not be a job offer then. Most people don’t hire Suiren more than once after witnessing firsthand how ruthless and brutal she could be when it came to her job. Not that Midori knew, of course, she had never seen her sister in real life-threatening action before. 

As Suiren read on, Midori saw the look on her face change from mildly annoyed to oddly puzzled, to momentarily angry, and, finally, something between sad and numb, an expression which only graced her face when she learned of or was about to deliver some bad news. Midori had only seen it twice, once as a four-year-old girl and then once more at seventeen. She had hoped to never see it again. 

“Hey, Midori, are you even listening to what I’m saying?” The girl whirled her head around, her grey eyes meeting Bolin’s own. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, I am. Just… give me a second…” She turned back to see that Suiren’s expression didn’t change. In fact, it seemed like her distress had gotten worse. Her hands were almost unnoticeably shaking and her fingers clenched the paper tighter. Midori slightly raised her voice. “Who’s it from, Renny?”

“Aunt Haya,” Suiren responded, her words distant but unwavering.

“Aunt Haya?” The younger sister repeated, vaguely registering everyone around the table stopping their conversations and turning to watch them, but she paid them no mind. “And what does that old badgerfrog want from-”

“She sold her.”

Midori blinked twice in confusion at the sudden interruption and cocked her head to the side. “Sold who?”

Suiren slowly lowered the letter, her eyes staring blankly into space and not moving to meet her sister’s gaze. Her breath hitched in her throat and her voice broke as she opened her mouth to speak. “Lotus. She- she sold Lotus to a travelling circus.”

“She  _ sold  _ Lottie?” The earthbender almost screeched in horror and disbelief, She jumped out of her seat and circled the table, the floorboards creaking under her heavy footsteps. She nearly knocked over Korra in her haste to kneel at her sister’s side and take the letter from her trembling hands. “But… I thought you left Lottie with the tribe?” Midori spoke, focusing on keeping her own voice even as she smoothed out the creases on the paper left by Suiren digging her nails into it.

“I- I did. She must- must have run out of the Swamp and- and went back to the house look- looking for me.” Suiren stuttered out, her behavior so different from her usual defensive and intimidating self. It was like she had forgotten anyone apart from her and Midori was in the room, intently listening to her every word. “Loyal as- as a polar bear dog, that one.”

Using Suiren’s momentary zoning out to her advantage, Midori carefully unfolded the letter, but only managed to catch the words ‘horrid beast’, ‘circus’ and ‘sack of gold’ before the waterbender snatched it back, crumpled it up, and stuffed it right back down her shirt where it had previously been. Midori could feel the bottled-up rage radiating off the older girl and it was making the hairs on her arms stand on end. She reached to take her sister’s hand, only to get her palm slapped away.

“You know what? I’m going to go get some early waterbending practice in.” Suiren said with a start, her demeanor changing in an instant. She stood and headed for the exit, throwing a polite “Thank you for the meal” over her shoulder and slammed the door behind her as she left. Midori didn’t follow.

“Aren’t you gonna after her?” Asami questioned, still looking at the door the assassin just went through.

“I… I think she needs some alone time right now.” Midori didn’t move from where she was kneeling but slightly shifted to have her legs crossed in front of her rather than under her. You could cut through the tension in the room with a knife.

“Okay okay okay, hold up, I’m a little lost,” Bolin spoke up after about a minute of uncomfortable silence. “So that aunt of yours, who Suiren severely hates and you mildly dislike, sent Suiren a letter saying that she sold  _ someone  _ to a travelling circus…?” He looked at Midori expectantly.

“Aunt Haya sold Lotus, Lottie for short. She is- well, I guess,  _ was,  _ Suiren’s sabertooth moose lion.”

“Of course Suiren has a sabertooth moose lion, why am I not surprised?” Mako grumbled under his breath.

Midori ignored the firebender’s comment. “Our aunt got Lottie as a gift for Suiren’s seventh birthday. She said that she and our uncle found the poor thing all alone in the woods when she was just a cub. They waited for a whole day and the mother moose lion never came. Everyone knows sabertooth moose lions never abandon their cubs, so Aunt and Uncle took care of her for a while before passing her onto Suiren.”

“That aunt of yours sold Suiren’s pet? The one she had for years? That’s awful! I get why you don’t like her now.” Ikki exclaimed, pouting.

Meelo jumped up on the table. “Yeah! Your aunt is horrible!” 

As an exasperated Tenzin ordered Meelo to get off the table, Bumi furrowed his brow in thought. “Wait just a minute, was the aunt who  _ got  _ the moose lion the same aunt who just  _ sold  _ the moose lion, or am I missing something?”

“No,” The grey-eyed girl shook her head. “The one who  _ sold _ Lottie is Aunt Haya, our dad’s older sister. Suiren  _ got _ Lottie from a close family friend who used to be like an aunt to us. And that uncle I mentioned? He’s the very same guy who Suiren was talking about on our first day here. The one who was interested in airbender culture, remember?”

Pema nodded but frowned and instinctively pulled Rohan closer to herself. “Did you say _ used  _ to be _? _ ”

“Uh, yes, I did. She died when we were very young, right before our parents did.”  _ Technically, that was only a half-lie. Aunt P’Li  _ did  _ die the same day Mum and Dad did, and the fact that it happened three years ago rather than thirteen is irrelevant right now.  _

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. No child deserves to go through something like that.” The airbender matriarch reached across Jinora and placed a hand on Midori’s forearm. “How old were you two when they died?”

“Seven-” Midori stopped herself right before  _ ‘seventeen’  _ slipped out of her mouth. She really ought to be more careful when talking about something like this. “ _ Suiren  _ was seven. I was four.”

Jinora glanced at the earthbender. “And what about that uncle?”

She shrugged with one shoulder. “I haven’t seen him for the better part of two decades, not since Suiren’s seventh birthday. I know he didn’t die but I have no idea where he is.”

“It’s kind of strange that half your family members just randomly dropped dead at the same time,” Mako spoke up, tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes. “How did they die?”

Bolin’s eyes widened. “Mako! You can’t just ask people how their parents died!” 

“No, no… really… it’s alright…” Midori dragged out her words to buy herself some time. Crap. What was she going to say? Her brain went into overdrive as she scrambled around for any possible explanation. “Well, many years ago, before I was even born, there was an awful pandemic in Gaoling. It spread like wildfire and took the lives of all four of my grandparents. Eventually, it disappeared as fast as it started, but cases still occasionally flared up. My mother, father, and aunt all caught it and were gone before anything could be done.” 

The first part, about the pandemic and her grandparents, was true, but she was stunned and how quickly and easily she had lied for the second part. She never lied much, and if she did it was always by omission, so her newfound ability to think ‘on her feet’ came as a shock to her. She didn’t even know if it was a convincing lie or not, considering that she, as Suiren would put it, had just pulled it out of her ass. And yet, judging by the faces of everyone around her, they bought the fib with no further questions. 

Mako awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck. “Sorry for asking, that was rude of me. I’m normally not as… brash is the right word, I guess? If it makes you feel any better, Bolin and I were six and eight when we lost our parents. We saw it happen. They were killed by a firebender.”

“My mother was killed by a firebender too, and I was six as well.” A morbid chuckle escaped Asami’s red-painted lips. “Funny how the world works, huh?”

_ ‘Your parents were killed by a firebender so you decided to return the favour, right Mako?’ _ The words sat on the tip of Midori’s tongue, but she dare not say them, no matter how much she wanted to put the guy back in his place. “That’s a… really depressing coincidence.” Was what she made herself say instead.

With everyone fully focused on the conversation about dead parents and sold moose lions, nobody even bothered to notice Kya standing up from the table and quietly slipping out the door, intentions set on finding, and perhaps comforting, the young golden-brown eyed assassin.

  * \- - 



To say that Suiren was angry would be a major understatement. She wasn’t just angry, she was completely and utterly furious, and she wasn’t afraid to show it. She had all but hissed at the acolyte who dared to stop and look at her as she stormed past, heading for the only spot on this thrice-damned island that she could tolerate.

She weaved her way through the fruit trees, ignoring the many lemurs who immediately tried to flock to her. The last thing she needed was a bunch of flying rats further dampening her mood. Thankfully, the creatures left her alone once they realized she didn’t have any food to give them. Once the trees cleared, she all but sprinted to that one cliff she had claimed as her own, the one where she would sit and look at the moon and remember her dear mother.

As she came to an abrupt stop close to the very edge of the cliff, some small voice inside of her urged her to jump.

She pushed the intrusive thoughts away, and with them went the adrenaline, making way for a wave of emotional exhaustion to wash over her. She fell to her knees, breathing heavily and harshly pressing her nails into her forearms, searching for at least some form of relief from everything going on.

Despite all that, she didn’t cry. The tears urged to spill, sure, but she stubbornly willed them back. Ever since that fateful moment when she had learned her parents weren’t ever coming back, she had bottled up every negative emotion that ever came upon her. She had to be the rock, the pillar of strength for Midori to lean on. She couldn’t do that if she let her tears control her. She had been strong and unbreakable for sixteen long years, and she would rather die than let Aunt Haya be the one to shatter her. 

The day she realized that being an assassin was no longer a small secret thing she did on the side to get Midori through her final few years of school, but rather a chosen profession she would have to fully commit to, was the day she gave herself a new mantra. Aged only seventeen, she accepted her new way of life. She was no longer a person, but rather a tool, a killing machine, for her employers to use. Her personal morals no longer mattered, she served the ones who offered to pay her more. it was as simple as that. 

“You’re a weapon now,” She had told her reflection in the mirror. “A weapon. And weapons don’t cry.”

She scrunched her eyes shut, willing thoughts and feelings alike out of her head. For what was far from the first time in her life, she wished to entirely give up her ability to feel. It was painful, simply  _ too painful  _ to endure all that she’s been through. Her mind drifted to an old quote that had burned its way into her memory, a part of some old poem she had heard as a little girl. 

_ “Let go your earthly tether. Enter the void. Empty and become wind.” _

That stupid ancient guru made it sound so easy.

But she had no time to dwell on it as she remembered exactly who had read the poem to her, and with the memories of Uncle Zaheer came ones of Aunt P’Li, who had gifted her Lotus in the first place. 

Lotus… The fact had finally sunk in. Her Lotus was gone. Sold, as if she was a mere object instead of a living, breathing creature who depended on Suiren for survival. Being orphaned and taken in by humans as a cub, Lotus didn’t have the slightest clue on how to survive in the wild. Even with all the time she spent in the Swamp, Suiren was never more than ten feet away from her and ordered her to run at the smallest sign of danger.

The ‘Girl with the Moose Lion’ was what Suiren was known as in rural Gaoling. Lotus was truly as loyal as a dog and followed her around almost everywhere she went, and even commands like ‘stay’ or ‘run’ couldn’t keep them apart for too long. You rarely saw one without the other. It was no wonder she had gone looking for Suiren and fell right into Haya’s dirty, scheming hands.

If only Haya had just let her run free, then maybe Lotus would be alright. The poor creature stood no chance in a circus, being as stubborn as she was. As stubborn as her owner.

Suiren finally ceased the abuse she was doing to her forearms as she felt light trickles of blood running down her skin and pooling in her sleeves. She stood up. If she couldn’t dull one pain with another, she’d just have to find another way to deal with her grief. Perhaps one that brought less harm to her. Midori would kill her if she knew what Suiren had just done. Either that or she’d cry. No, she’d definitely cry. Cry and then beg Suiren to  _ never _ do  _ that _ again. She couldn’t let Midori see her in this state.

One part of her desperately craved her sister’s loving touch and comfort, but the other part knew that Midori wasn’t the right person for something like this. The girl would try to find a positive side to it, assure her that as soon as her mission was over, she could go track down that travelling circus and get Lotus back. How she could find a good side to  _ everything, all the freaking time,  _ Suiren would never know.

Moving on instinct, Suiren raised both of her arms, not noticing the blood now running in the opposite direction and probably leaving trails in its wake that are going to be a pain to scrub off. The seawater from the crashing waves below followed her movements, coming up in two big streams that conjoined into one. Suiren then turned, looking for something to take her rage out on. She stopped on a tree standing less than ten meters in front of her. A perfect target.

With swift, practiced motions, she refined the huge stream of water into a long whip and brought it down on the tree, leaving a scar on the bark. She continued the attacks, imagining her Aunt Haya in place of the trunk, which only fuelled her further. Surely, her sister would prefer she cause irreparable damage to a tree rather than to herself, and it’s not like anyone would care if she destroyed one out of the ten thousand, five hundred and fifty-two trees on the island. That was the number according to Ikki, as Midori had told her. As she moved, her ponytail came loose and her silky black hair flew in her face as the wind blew from behind her, but she didn’t care. She had no more energy to care.

Footsteps on the gravel to her left made her pause and jerk her head in the direction of the sound, subconsciously aiming her water whip at the newcomer. She was sure she’d see Midori, maybe Korra, or at the very least Pema, but the last person she had expected to come after her was Master Tenzin’s waterbender sister.

Kya eyed the water whip cautiously, raising her hands in mock surrender. “Woah, easy there. I just came to talk.”

Suiren took a deep breath and tossed the water back into the ocean, folding her arms and hiding a wince as she felt the bruises start forming. “Fine. Then talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SAID I'll get this chapter out before 2021, and I DID 
> 
> With a word count of 7.1k, this is the longest chapter yet, and I say it more than makes up for my two month absence. Fun fact: Kya's talk with Suiren was also originally included in this chapter, but it was getting way too long and I had to split it. 
> 
> Anyways, happy New Year, everyone!


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